Masseuse saw 1,800 clients in three months, police tell human trafficking case

A Chinese woman who worked at a massage parlour in Birkirkara - where police were tipped off about illegal sexual services and human trafficking - saw around 1,800 clients over a span of three months while working 14-hour days, a court heard.

Police investigations revealed that the woman lived on the premises.

She would open the parlour at around 9am and close at approximately 11pm.

Before closing, she would take a brief walk during which she disposed of used condoms in a nearby bin, Inspector John Spiteri testified.

He was testifying before Magistrate Lara Lanfranco during the compilation of evidence against Shen Man, a 56-year-old Chinese national accused of human trafficking, running a brothel, and living off the earnings of prostitution.

Man has pleaded not guilty.

Inspector Spiteri explained that the vice squad had received an anonymous letter sent to the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations, alleging that an Asian woman working at the massage parlour could be a trafficking victim due to her long working hours and the suspected provision of sexual services.

Investigations carried out over three months showed that the establishment was rented by Man and staffed by another woman - the alleged victim.

The woman, who lived in the parlour, opened the parlour every morning at around 9am, and immediately began seeing clients. 

She would close at around 11pm and did not take any rest days during the three-month period.

Before closing each day, she would leave the premises briefly to dispose of a bag filled with used condoms.

Revolut records belonging to Man showed multiple incoming payments ranging from €30 to €60 from men, even during a period when she had travelled for about a month.

Monthly records also showed regular rental payments between €400 and €600.

€800 monthly wage

Jobsplus records indicated that the victim was officially employed by Man.

According to her residence permit, she was registered as living in an Msida apartment owned by Man’s former partner. 

The victim later said she earned around €800 a month, from which €300 was deducted by Man for tax and stamp duty - payments that were later found not to have been made. 

Even the €800 monthly wage was considered disproportionately low given her long working hours and lack of rest days, the inspector said.

When police entered the parlour, they found the woman dressed in provocative clothing rather than a typical masseuse uniform.

She appeared panicked, but after officers reassured her, she repeatedly insisted that Man was “a very nice person” and that “nothing was wrong".

”Inside the premises, officers found contraceptives hidden under a sofa cushion in the corridor, as well as €600 concealed in a curtain seam.

In an earlier sitting, the woman told the court that she had come to Malta six years ago for work and eventually began offering sexual services to regular clients of her own free will.

In an emotional testimony, she explained that clients would request additional sexual services and pay her cash tips at their discretion. 

She insisted these services were not part of her official duties as a masseuse. 

At the end of the sitting, Magistrate Lanfranco ruled that there was enough evidence for the case against Man to proceed.

The prosecution is led by lawyers Ramon Bonett Sladden and Charmaine Abdilla from the Office of the Attorney General, alongside Inspectors John Spiteri, Dorianne Tabone, and Oscar Baldacchino.

Lawyer Francois Dalli represented the accused, while Lawyer Lara Dimitrijevic appeared for the victim on behalf of the Women’s Rights Foundation.